GreenCityBlueLake - Blog

Cleveland's curse: Getting BRT right makes second act so tough

Marc Lefkowitz — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 02:00:00 EDT

Whether we realize it or not, when Cleveland launched its Bus-Rapid Transit system on Euclid Avenue in 2008, it joined an international community dedicating bus lanes that promise to speed transit riders along faster than conventional buses. Clevelanders have taken great pride in seeing their BRT splashed across the pages of the international press—it was even crowned top BRT system in the U.S.

Cleveland needs to "name and claim" bike progress

Marc Lefkowitz — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EDT

Cleveland will paint more bike lanes this summer than at any time in its 217-year history. It may be premature to call it a bike boom, but it is appropriate to call it by some other name.

Lakefront hopes

David Beach — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:00:00 EDT

A great lakefront—clean, beautiful, green, and publicly accessible—has been at the top of Cleveland's civic to-do list for decades. Now it's starting to happen.

Mid-tier cities like Cleveland will rise again during the urban century

Marc Lefkowitz — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:45:00 EDT

The old narrative about the mobilility of Americans driven by big companies is being challenged by an emerging, inter-generational story that says we're moved by "aspirational geographies." In cities, that translates in to living close to the action; a lifestyle measured in feet rather than miles.

Cleveland must choose: urban highway or a local economy

Marc Lefkowitz — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EDT

The continental divide of plains to the west and the infantile rise of the Appalachians to the east define Cleveland. A million years ago, giant, mile-high glaciers scoured the land and left behind alluvial silt where beech and maple trees grew hundreds of feet, towering over boggy wetlands. When Europeans arrived, they felled the giants of the forest, drained the wetlands and started plating cities and farming in the river valleys.

Flash forward to the 21st century.

The next act of a generation of doubt and decline in Cleveland

Marc Lefkowitz — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EDT

If only there were some way of making travel compulsory. Northeast Ohioans especially would benefit from getting out of the “Rust Belt” and seeing what a boom town looks like.

Utah has what Northeast Ohio wants: Secret sauce for Sustainable Communities

Marc Lefkowitz — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:00:00 EDT

Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) capped two decades as the champion of smart growth with its 21st annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah—the site of the largest state investment in transit anywhere in the U.S.

Lydon, Roberts on the future of Tactical Urbanism

Marc Lefkowitz — Fri, 31 May 2013 04:00:00 EDT

“The project delivery process in cities is fundamentally broken,” says Tactical Urbanism founder Mike Lydon.

Duany, Norquist call for New Urbanism renewal

Marc Lefkowitz — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:00:00 EDT

A city evolves like a forest from grass to savannah to climate forest, says Congress for New Urbanism co-founder Andres Duany. He calls it successional urbanism.

Finding a new ally for the walk to school

Marc Lefkowitz — Wed, 29 May 2013 08:00:00 EDT

You’ve heard of the 3 “Rs” but how about the 5 “Es”? To whit: Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & Planning. The 5Es was an invention of the League of American Bicyclists, itself a product of the 19th century push for “good” or paved roads.